Michelle Obama’s Ball Gown

Alright, I haven’t indulged my inner fashionista in a long time, but I must comment about Michelle Obama’s Inaugural styles.

First off, Mrs. Obama looked fantastic in this Narciso Rodriguez creation for the pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial. She looked comfortable, the black-and-tan was dynamite on her and she looked warm; by far my favorite of her outfits. Everything about it – FABULOUS!

Unfortunately, she did not look anywhere near as comfortable, or as warm, at the inauguration, but I liked the lemongrass-gold color on her. She looked a little bulky in all that fabric, though, and no one wants to look like a lemongrass linebacker – I wondered if she was wearing silk “warmies” underneath against the cold.

Come to think of it, Mrs. Bush looked cold, as well, and why in heaven’s name did her light coat not button up?

I read comments good and bad about Mrs. Obama’s sheath/ matching coat ensemble and I came down squarely in the middle. I did not think it was the “glorious statement” the out-of-their-heads over-all things-Obama folks did, but I also did not think it looked she’d “pulled the drapes off the wall like Scarlett O’ Hara” as I read somewhere. I thought it was an interesting fabric – and interesting fabrics are good – but the outfit was not particularly well served by that jewelry-thing she was wearing as a brooch, or whatever, at the neckline. The bling was just distracting.

But the Inaugural gown, by 26-year old Jason Wu – the gown that will go into the First Ladies Collection at the Smithsonian Institute – well…

It was just too young on her.

The press is so committed to writing only good things about the Obama’s that they won’t honestly critique Mrs. Obama’s clothing – they’ll say she is “creative” or “has a sense of humor” or something along those lines (and that is our first taste of what lengths the press will go to, to “protect” the Obamas, in whom they have invested all of their credibility, but that’s for another post). In fact, here is an example from – where else, the NY Times:

Here is a bolder woman, a serious woman from Chicago and Harvard who is not afraid to express herself with fashion, and it is the kind of confidence that many women will recognize in themselves. Her clothes tell us that she has an adventurous spirit, as well as a sense of humor, and if some of these garments have almost an old-fashioned womanly quality, then they tell us that she is indeed not your average fashionista.

Every First lady since Mrs. Clinton has had an advanced degree (if those things are the measure of a person, for you) but if you can get past the gushing over her “Ivy League” connection, you can read that blurb as a well-spun, “she hasn’t much direction, sometimes looks a little absurd and can get matronly.” They wouldn’t have put it so nicely for Mrs. Bush, or Mrs. McCain, but they’re writing about Mrs. Obama, and they’ve already anointed her the “new fashion icon” so it all gets a “fresh and exciting” spin, and nothing negative is permitted.

Well, I’m not a member of the press, and I have no vested interest in promoting all-things Obama, so let me say it for them:

There was nothing wrong with the Jason Wu ball gown – it is, in fact, a very lovely piece. It was simply all wrong for Mrs. Obama, and for the occasion. It was much too young; it begged to be worn by a woman in her late teens to mid-20’s. Also, the gown was simply wrong for the occasion; it was romantic – and there’s nothing wrong with romantic – but when you’re stepping out formally and publicly as the First Lady of the most powerful man in the world, the gown needs to feminine but stable and slightly authoritative; a little bitchy, if you will. With Mrs. Obama’s commanding height, she could have pulled off something remarkable. Instead…she looked a little “little girl lost.” Kind of a wasted opportunity. I think others may feel the same way.

Here’s how I would have dressed her:

For the Inauguration; I loved the green gloves and I loved the color of her outfit. I would have lost the bling, put some faux-sable fur at the wrists and collar of the coat, and given the dress itself a little bit of a v-shaped neckline – not plunging – ladylike, but playful. Emerald jewelry at the neck, if she wanted it.

For the Balls: I would have put her in antique gold lace – it would have set her skintone off beautifully and “worked” under the lights. I would have insisted that she go for a daring neckline that was at once sexy and commanding – think this neckline, which Elizabeth Taylor pulled off so beautifully in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

I would have the gold lace falling in soft pleats from those athletic shoulders, but with an empire waist, which flatters Mrs. Obama – the skirt full but straight. Mrs. Obama would have been magnificent and regal, completely commanding and assured, and people would have been gasping.

Oh, deep down, I would have loved to have been on Project Runway. But I’m sure I’d end up more detested than Wendy Pepper.

Slightly off topic; I loved – LOVED – Aretha Franklin’s hat. Loved.

The WaPo’s Robin Givhan is predictably breathless – everything Mrs. Obama wears is perfect – but her commenters seem to be a bit more thoughtful, honest and constructive in their critique. If I were Mrs. Obama – a mom with young children – I’d rather hear constructive criticism (and stick to what I know “works”) than hear the constant and unhelpful sighs of “isn’t everything she does just great,” which can really end up hurting more than helping a person. But I think the press has utterly lost their capacity to be honest about anything, anymore. They’ve reduced themselves to being well-connected, sometimes well-educated fan mag editors. I don’t see any indication that they’re at all concerned about that, either.

Also: One can make a case that both Roberts and Obama, himself screwed up the oath of office, and the argument can be well-made that the whole mess was precipitated by Obama jumping the gun on Roberts. They both lost their rhythm. It happens. Last One: Yesterday Ann Althouse wrote of Elizabeth Alexander, “someone is committing poetry.” I myself had remarked, “I can think of a dozen rappers who would have done a better job than she.” Today, Ms. Althouse expands her remarks on Alexander, and brings Limbaugh into it. Delish! Have I mentioned that Althouse and her comments together are the irresistible one-two punch of the blogosphere? I’m sure I have!